Will Abhishek Bachchan return to idea campaigns?

Will Abhishek Bachchan return to idea campaigns?

From Honey Bunny to Aiyo Holi, Idea has been a hyperactive ubiquitous presence on TV these last few months. Is there a method in the madness and will small B ever return?

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Idea used to come up with a marquee commercial starring Junior B

Aiyo Holiyo — telecom brand Idea's latest commercial is its fifth in as many months. This is quite unprecedented for a brand known to go to town with a single commercial.

Through large parts of its brand history, Idea used to come up with a marquee commercial — almost inevitably starring Abhishek Bachchan — that tied the brand to a cause or issue du jour.

The current wave marks a significant break in strategy.

In pic:
Abhishek Bachchan at Radhika Goenka's Art show in Tao Art Gallery

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Rival brands have lost steam

"The newfound vigour of Idea," says KV Sridhar, chief creative officer of Leo Burnett, Indian subcontinent, "has come at a time when all its rival brands have lost steam."

While Vodafone ran out of ideas a long time ago, Airtel is still milking the friendship cow, he adds.

The third largest telecom service provider in the country has indeed donned a brand new aggressive avatar, bombarding consumers with a series of short and crisp TV campaigns, especially after it got its mojo back with Honey Bunny.

The campaign — Honey Bunny— gave Idea its X factor

"We were lying low after the move by the Supreme Court to cancel licenses. But we knew we would bounce back," says Sashi Shankar, chief marketing officer of Idea Cellular.

And Idea indeed was back with a bang last November. After securing its pan-India network, it launched a campaign to draw attention to its nationwide presence. The campaign — Honey Bunny— gave Idea its X factor.

First released on YouTube and other social media platforms, the song got more than 2 million views on the popular video sharing site, and over 2 lakh unique visitors to the Honey Bunny download page. Moreover, Idea recorded over 5 million downloads of Honey Bunny caller tones.

"Our thoughts were always young, but connect with the youth was missing," says Shankar. Honey Bunny he believes, helped bridge that gap.

In pic: A screen-grab of a YouTube video.

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Idea started to lose fizz after its 'Population' campaign

More importantly it brought the buzz back to the brand. Buzz that was missing since its last marquee campaign on apps starring the younger Bachchan, which took place in some strange afterlife.

Idea at the time was steadily losing the battle of mindspace as its rivals, especially Airtel riding high on the friendship bandwagon, were slowly squeezing it in terms of visibility.

"Idea started to lose fizz after its 'Population' campaign," says Sridhar. "Honey Bunny was the turning point for the brand." Through the end of last year, it unleashed a series of festival campaigns — Diwali, Eid, Christmas — that coincided with Honey Bunny.

And in February this year, Idea came up with a Valentine's Day commercial. The same month, it rolled out the slice of life telephone exchange film.

Campaigns pan out unacknowledged admissions among couples

And that's what makes Idea campaigns exclusive — messages that score high on relevance, while continuing to remain inclusive to consumers at large, she adds.

This is perhaps where the communication strategy of Idea scores over its peers. Airtel's persistence with youth-themed campaigns may not resonate with a 50-year-old man who would love to be part of Idea's Valentine's commercial. Ditto in the case of Vodafone, which has been pushing its data offerings to the youth.

"What is the possibility of a 44 -year-old housewife from the Malnad belt in Karnataka connecting with the Vodafone commercials?" asks Ranganathan.

In pic: A screen-grab of Idea telephone exchange Ad YouTube video.

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Idea topping the mobile number portability sweepstakes

This appears to be borne out by Idea topping the mobile number portability sweepstakes. Data for up to March 2013 indicates portins of 15,773,639 and portouts of 9,395,889, a net gain of 6,377,750, the highest in the industry at the moment.

However, even if Airtel and Vodafone's total quantum of advertising is going down (which may change with the latter expected to unleash a Zoozoo blitzkrieg this IPL), both companies have been pushing value added services and lucrative data packages. Idea on the other hand is still focussing on voice as a plank.

Shankar doesn't think the brand is missing out: "As long as we tell our story in an effective and sweet manner, it hardly makes a difference," he says.

The brand has been using TV as its main arsenal to connect with masses. Again quite a contrast to Airtel and Vodafone which have a greater social media focus.

Another medium that the brand has been focusing on is cinema advertising. Not surprising considering that the chunk of Idea subscribers are from semiurban and rural areas.

In pic: A screen-grab of Idea Honey Bunny Ad YouTube video.

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Opportunity to reach out to large audience

"It gives us credibility and an excellent opportunity to reach out to a large captive audience even at the remotest corners of the country," says Shankar. Perhaps the only element missing from Idea's campaigns is Bachchan. But he is going to stage a comeback soon.

"We are going to renew our contract," says Shankar, "Sirji is a part of the Idea family."

While brand experts may point out the futility of continuing with Bachchan (and the success of Idea's campaigns after dropping Junior B from its commercials only adds bite to their bark) R Balki, the man behind Idea's brand positioning, still vouches for the original X Factor.

"The caste war campaign in October 2007 (Idea's first theme campaign under 'What an Idea, Sirji' series) was our X factor at that time, and Sirji was the seminal moment for the brand," says the chairman and chief creative officer of Lowe Lintas, Idea's ad agency.

One never knows when the X Factor slips into Fatigue Factor with the audience. "But one thing is for sure: X Factor always comes back when you take a break. Sirji will definitely return," he concludes.